“For him to put her and another woman through hell and not get some punishment is a disgrace.

“I am finding it really hard without Gillian and this has just broken my heart.

“I did everything I could to bring Sean Lees to court and get justice for her and he has walked away free.

“This sends out the wrong message to other women who are thinking about reporting domestic abuse.”

Lees’ defence solicitor, Ross Brown, said social workers had recommended that Lees would benefit from a supervision order. He added: “He is a man of 49 years of age and he has been considerably affected by this whole prosecution.”

Ms Crainey had told how she blamed Lees for her daughter’s death.

She said: “I had to walk in the house and find Gillian dead – it was absolutely devastating. She had hanged herself.